The Hagi Rebellion — Maebara Issei and the Chōshū Shizoku Uprising Against the Sword Abolition Edict

The Hagi Rebellion (Hagi no Ran) was a samurai uprising that took place in October 1876 (Meiji 9). Led by Maebara Issei, who is counted among the foremost figures of the Restoration, former samurai of the former Chōshū Domain (Nagato Province) rose against the Meiji government at Hagi in Nagato Province (present-day Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture). It was linked to the Shinpūren (Keishintō) Rebellion in Kumamoto Prefecture and the Akizuki Rebellion of the former Akizuki Domain in Fukuoka Prefecture, which occurred at the same time, and it is counted as one of a series of discontented shizoku rebellions that led on to the Satsuma Rebellion (Seinan War) of the following year. In particular, because it was rooted in resentment at the dismantling of samurai privileges through measures such as the Sword Abolition Edict (Haitōrei), it is an incident that symbolizes the turning point of the era concerning swords and the survival of the samurai class.

Background: Maebara Issei, a Founding Hero of the Restoration

Maebara Issei was a samurai from the Chōshū Domain who studied at Yoshida Shōin's Shōka Sonjuku. Together with Takasugi Shinsaku, Kido Takayoshi and others, he threw himself into the sonnō jōi (revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians) movement and the movement to overthrow the shogunate in the late Bakumatsu period, and he is a Restoration hero for his contributions. He also distinguished himself in the Boshin War, and in the new Meiji government he held key posts including State Councillor (sangi) and Vice-Minister of Military Affairs (hyōbu taifu). He was a figure so highly regarded that he is counted among the 'Ten Great Men of the Restoration' (Ishin no Jikketsu).

However, Maebara came into conflict with the policies of the mainstream clan faction led by Kido Takayoshi and other leaders, and he came to harbor strong dissatisfaction with the rapid modernization pushed forward by the new government and its disregard for the treatment of the shizoku. Above all, Maebara felt deep indignation at the fact that the shizoku, who had been the driving force of the Restoration, were having their very reason for being denied by the introduction of conscription, and were being stripped of their economic foundation by the abolition of samurai stipends (chitsuroku shobun). Eventually Maebara resigned from office and returned to his home town of Hagi, and former Chōshū Domain samurai who were likewise dissatisfied with the government began to gather around him.

The Sword Abolition Edict as the Trigger

In March of Meiji 9 (1876), the government issued the Sword Abolition Edict. Officially, this was a Grand Council of State (Daijōkan) proclamation that prohibited the wearing of swords except by those wearing formal court dress, military personnel, police officers and others. A sword was not merely a weapon but the soul of the samurai, a symbol of their status and their pride. The ban on wearing swords was a measure that stripped the shizoku of their very identity as samurai, and the abolition of samurai stipends (the complete elimination of hereditary stipends) piled on top of it, so that the outrage of discontented shizoku across the country reached its peak.

Triggered by this Sword Abolition Edict, on 24 October 1876 (Meiji 9), the Shinpūren (Keishintō) Rebellion first broke out in Kumamoto Prefecture. In response to this rebellion, in which shizoku who had been deprived of their swords rose up armed with swords and spears in accordance with the will of the gods, the Akizuki Rebellion, led by former samurai of the former Akizuki Domain, broke out in Fukuoka Prefecture on 27 October.

Uprising and Course of Events

Upon receiving word of the uprisings of the Shinpūren and Akizuki, Maebara Issei finally resolved to rise up. On 28 October 1876 (Meiji 9), Maebara gathered about 200 shizoku at the former domain school, Meirinkan, as its base, and raised an army calling itself the 'Junkoku-gun' ('Army of Martyrs for the Nation'). The name of the group, meaning to die for the nation, embodied the tragic resolve of samurai who were being left behind by the times.

Because the plan to attack the prefectural office in Yamaguchi was detected in advance, the Junkoku-gun changed course to advance eastward along the San'in Road, aiming to submit a petition directly to the Emperor. It could not carry this out, and it was forced to turn back to Hagi.

When government forces with modern equipment and organization (garrison troops of the Hiroshima Garrison (Hiroshima Chindai) and others) were deployed, the ad hoc Junkoku-gun had no means to resist. Little more than a week after the uprising began, the rebellion was suppressed by government forces.

Outcome: The Execution of Maebara and Others

Maebara Issei left Hagi by sea to head for Tokyo, but he was captured on 5 November at Uryū port in Izumo. On 3 December 1876 (Meiji 9), a trial was held at the Hagi provisional court, but the opportunity to explain himself to the government, which had apparently been promised at the start, was not granted. Eight leaders and senior members of the Junkoku-gun were sentenced to death, and the sentences were carried out the same day. One of the Restoration's elder heroes, who had left great achievements for the Restoration, thus met his end at the place of execution as a rebel against the new government.

Historical Significance

The Hagi Rebellion, together with the Shinpūren Rebellion and the Akizuki Rebellion, was a shizoku uprising that erupted against a background of dissatisfaction with the Sword Abolition Edict, the abolition of samurai stipends and similar measures. What these rebellions had in common was anger at having the sword, the soul of the samurai, taken away, and a last resistance to the dismantling of the samurai status itself in the name of modernization.

However, the armed strength of the ad hoc shizoku was crushed one after another before the modern government army, which was organized through conscription. The failure of these rebellions made it clear to everyone that the era of the old samurai, who relied on the sword, had come to a complete end. The series of shizoku rebellions of Meiji 9, beginning with the Hagi Rebellion, are regarded as the direct prelude to the Satsuma Rebellion (Seinan War) of the following year, Meiji 10 (1877), the largest and last shizoku rebellion, which was launched with Saigō Takamori at its head. This incident, which embodied the anger and sorrow of samurai who had been stripped of their swords, vividly records the process by which the era of the Japanese sword and the samurai closed with the establishment of the modern state.